


Found

by Elais (tonyendo)



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Death Knight, Found Family, Gen, Implied Transphobia, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Mages, Smoking, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:28:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24225859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tonyendo/pseuds/Elais
Summary: Sometimes it’s not the family you’re born into but the one you make.
Kudos: 2





	Found

**Author's Note:**

> ohana means family 🥺

Summer was in full swing in Dalaran. With summer came festivals—most notably the Midsummer Fire Festival. The legion invasions had passed, and citizens of the neutral city needed a break from the stressors of wars too close for comfort.

Elais was used to the milder summers of Northrend, and had yet to acclimate to the humidity of the Broken Isles. The retired death knight’s frost magic couldn’t keep up with the sweltering temperatures.

As far as magic was concerned, Lendill excelled with fire. Arcane and frost were weak points for him, but he still mustered up enough frost magic to give Elais her own personal flurry. “That should keep you cool,” he had beamed, seeming pleased with himself.

As they transversed the festival area, children of all races would dash in and out of her personal bubble, giggling and trying to catch the snowflakes. Occasionally, Len would entertain them, conjuring up an image of a fire blossom or phoenix that would dissipate into harmless embers. It almost brought a smile to her lips. 

_ Almost. _

Her mind was elsewhere, far from the festivities. As Len busied himself with vendors, Elais slipped from the crowd, opting instead to lean over a wall surrounding the park.

It was only mere minutes before Len caught up with her. She ignored him as he busied himself with the cursed electronic he’d commissioned from Alar. She’d scolded him when he’d first gotten it, for having even asked for it in the first place. Len may be a fire mage, but it didn’t mean he needed to smoke like a chimney.

As he exhaled, he blew the smoke sideways away from her. He extended it in offering. 

_ I’m a hypocrite,  _ she thought, accepting it. However the taste wasn’t what she expected.

_ Bloodthistle, again. _

Elais made a face, looking at the contraption. “Why did I think this was tobacco?” she grumbled before raising it to her lips once more. 

“Alright,” Len gently pulled the contraption out of her hands. “You never go for it twice. Something’s on your mind. What’s the matter, my refrigerated friend?”

There was a long pause between them. Elais’ eyes focused on the children dancing around the ribbon pole, giggling with wonderful delight at the colors.

“Do you ever miss your family, Lendill?”

Len’s eyes flicked away, a normal cigarette now between his lips. “More than I should, I suppose. Kaen’el antagonized me, sure, but… that doesn’t mean he deserved to  _ die _ .”

The end glowed bright for a moment as Len reflected on his brother. When it burst into flames, the blood elf scowled and stubbed it out on the railing.

“I lost my sister to scourge, and I lost my brother to demons. I can’t help but wonder what  _ awful _ fate will befall me.”

Elais dusted the ash off the wall. “Don’t think of that, Lendill. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

_ “Vendel'o eranu, _ ” he exhaled, smoke curling from his lips—this time due to his magic rather than cigarettes. Underneath his words lied a tone of bitterness, or perhaps sadness. He took a drag to calm himself. “Why do you ask?”

Her hand went to the pocket of her shirt. There was a moment of hesitation. She withdrew a necklace from within, showing it to him. The thin gold chain stood out against her pale pink fingers. In her palm laid the attached pendant.

The weight of the trinket had been weighing on her mentally, and she hadn’t been sure how to address it. For weeks it had been sitting on her desk. Late at night she’d catch herself staring at it, indistinguishable emotions rising up within her that she had desperately tried to quell.

“What’s this?” Len murmured. Leaning over, he pressed in the latch, causing the locket to swing open.

“Alar found it in Teldrassil.”

Inside, there was an aged photo of two Kaldorei women—twins, the way their features were strikingly similar. A sentinel and a ranger, by the looks of it.

The photo was signed around the edges, but in-tact for the better part. Elais was right—one of the women, the sentinel, looked similar. Her skin appeared darker, her form  _ healthier _ , her hair longer.

“Holy shit,” he muttered, cigarette falling from his lips.

Elais brushed her thumb over the traditional photo, eyebrows furrowing. “She has my face, but she’s not me. This isn’t me.” 

“I mean…” Len squinted at the small image. “It’s an old photo, Lais. No one said that’s you, it could be anyone.” His reassurances didn’t seem to work.

Elais shook her head, snapping the locket closed. “Uncanny resemblance, then.”

“This upsets you,” he observed, picking up the fallen smoke. After a moment of contemplation, he raised it up to his lips once more.“Why? You’ve never cared before about your past life.” 

Her lips pursed as she bit down her irritation. It was a valid question, and he was right. Elais had never cared before. “Am I supposed to care?” She asked quietly. “If I have family out there… what then? They mean nothing to me.” She pocketed the locket, not wanting to look at the kaldorei engravings anymore. “I don’t have a family. I don’t  _ want  _ one.”

The shorter elf pursed his lips. “Don’t say that,” he chided. He nudged her before gesturing aimlessly. “You’ve got me. You’ve got Alar—we’re both here for you, Lais.”

She glanced down at him, her frown lessening somewhat. He took this as a good sign and continued on.

“We may not be blood, but… I consider you both family. Sometimes it’s not the one you’re born into but the one you make.”

Elais looked down at her hands. She mulled over his words. 

“Perhaps… you have a point.”

Len pulled her down to his height in order to place a kiss to her cheek. “I know I do,” He smoothed her hair down affectionately before letting her go. “I love you, popsicle.”

“Mm.”

A smirk played on his lips as he took another puff of his smoke. “ _ I love you too, Len,” _ he mimicked in a terrible impression. It earned him a jab in the arm as Elais tried to hide her smile.


End file.
